A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand. In harpsichords, the plectra are attached to the jack mechanism. A plectrum (pick) for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and mandolins is typically a thin piece of plastic or other material shaped like a pointed teardrop or triangle. The size, shape and width may vary considerably. Thin items such as small coins, bread clips or broken compact discs and credit cards can be used as substitute plectra. Banjo and guitar players may wear a metal or plastic thumb pick mounted on a ring, and bluegrass banjo players often wear metal or plastic fingerpicks on their fingertips. Guitarists also use fingerpicks.
Guitar picks are made of a variety of materials, including celluloid, metal, and rarely other exotic materials such as turtle shell, but today delrin is the most common material. For other instruments in the modern day most players use plastic plectra but a variety of other materials, including wood and felt (for use with the ukulele) are common. Guitarists in the rock, blues, jazz and bluegrass genres tend to use a plectrum, partly because the use of steel strings tends to wear out the fingernails quickly, and also because a plectrum provides a more ‘focused’ and ‘aggressive’ sound. Many guitarists also use the pick and the remaining right-hand fingers simultaneously to combine some advantages of flat picking and finger picking. This technique is called hybrid picking.
Playing a guitar with a pick produces a bright sound compared to plucking with the fingertip. Picks also offer a greater contrast in tone across different plucking locations. For example, the difference in brightness between plucking close to the bridge and close to the neck is much greater when using a pick compared to a fingertip. Conversely, the many playing techniques that involve the fingers, such as those found in fingerstyle guitar, slapping, classical guitar, and flamenco guitar, can also yield an extremely broad variety of tones.
Guitar picks vary in thickness to accommodate different playing styles and kinds of strings. Thinner picks are more flexible and tend to offer a wider range of sounds, from soft to loud, and produce a “click” that emphasizes the attack of the picking. However, heavier picks usually produce a brighter tone. In rock and heavy metal, while playing electric guitar with hi-gain amplification or distortion, thinner picks produce muddier, heavier, less controllable sound and thicker picks produce more delicate, more controlled and well-shaped tone. Thinner picks also tend to rip or tear more often if used too forcefully, whereas a thicker one is less likely to wear down. Thicker picks are generally used in more discrete genres, such as heavy metal or power metal. However, there are many exceptions to these stereotypes, especially as there is an element of guitarist preference involved in selecting pick thickness.
Many death metal musicians only use picks thicker than 1.5 mm, because it allows more control over heavy gauge strings. Thinner picks tend to give less attack and do not give as much control when doing fast tremolo picking. Also, they tend to wear much faster when used with heavier gauge strings. Jazz guitar players tend to use quite heavy picks, as they also tend to favor heavy gauge flat-wound strings. Bass players tend to prefer thick picks because their strings are far thicker and farther apart than those of guitarists.
With all the variations in pick designs over the years, the basic design of flat pick has remained the same. The guitarist typically holds the pick in his right hand between the thumb and index finger while he plucks the string. Due to the orientation of the guitar relative the plucking hand, the distal end of the pick which actually engages with the string is not aligned. It would be unnatural and uncomfortable for the guitarist to contort his hand such that the distal end of the pick is then aligned with the string. This means that the distal end of the pick actually engages the string at an angle. Engaging with the string at an angle can produce a different noise or sound as compared to engaging the string in alignment.
Accordingly, there is a need for a guitar pick that engages the string in alignment. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.